House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan is warning of subpoenas for liberal prosecutors like Fairfax County’s Steve Descano over policies that critics say put illegal immigrants ahead of public safety.
After a heated House Judiciary Committee hearing, Rep. Jim Jordan sharply criticized Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano for directing his office to “consider immigration consequences where possible” when negotiating plea deals. The Ohio Republican made clear he was prepared to escalate the committee’s probe into so-called “sanctuary jurisdictions,” including Descano’s, if local prosecutors continue to withhold documents.
Jordan said the committee has asked for records from district attorneys in several jurisdictions and would not hesitate to use subpoenas if necessary. “If we have to, we’ll use subpoenas to get the documents that we think they may not be giving us. There’s a process we always go through. We ask for things, we ask again, we explain why, we work with their office, in some cases their counsel, and back and forth,” Jordan told Fox News Digital. “And then if we have to use subpoenas, we certainly will do that... but we want to know the facts.”
The scrutiny on Descano comes after the stabbing death of 41-year-old U.S. citizen Stephanie Minter at a Virginia bus stop. Abdul Jalloh, a 32-year-old man who prosecutors say entered the country illegally from Sierra Leone in 2012, is accused of killing her. The Department of Homeland Security reportedly said Jalloh had been arrested more than 30 times before the fatal attack.
Jordan linked such tragedies to progressive policies that, in his view, tie the hands of law enforcement. “This is one of the dumbest policies I’ve ever heard of. You’re going to tell local law enforcement not to work with federal law enforcement when it comes to enforcing federal law?” he said. “And then you have people like Mr. Descano, who are releasing bad guys, and they have a stated policy saying, you know, ‘We will look at their immigration status before we make a decision on charging,’ and in certain clear agreements and they’re releasing guys. You have then you have bad things happen.”
Descano, who has led the Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office since January 2020, instructed prosecutors to weigh “the collateral immigration consequences of the specific crime(s) the defendant is charged with” when negotiating plea deals, according to guidance issued in 2020. The guidance, cited by WTOP News and quoted by Fox News Digital, directs staff to “consider immigration consequences where possible.”
Such policies, Jordan argued, put the interests of illegal immigrants above the safety of law-abiding residents. “That’s definitely a concern that I think probably any American with common sense would have,” he said.
Fairfax County, a major suburb of Washington, D.C., has been described as a “sanctuary jurisdiction,” meaning local law enforcement is not required to cooperate with federal immigration authorities. Descano’s office has faced increasing criticism that this approach has contributed to violent crime, especially when individuals with long criminal records remain free after multiple arrests.
Steve Descano’s rise was fueled by major outside money. In 2019, his campaign received hundreds of thousands of dollars from the Justice and Public Safety PAC, which lists billionaire George Soros among its backers. This PAC has become known for supporting progressive prosecutors who pledge to overhaul traditional law enforcement practices.
Jordan’s investigation is not limited to Fairfax County. He named other district attorneys, including Manhattan’s Alvin Bragg and Philadelphia’s Larry Krasner, as potential subjects for the committee’s inquiry into the consequences of sanctuary policies and their impact on public safety.
Key questions remain unanswered. The specific charges filed against Jalloh, the details of his prior arrests, and the timeline of Minter’s killing were not disclosed. Nor did Descano or his office provide any comment to Fox News Digital when asked about these concerns. The committee’s request for documents from various prosecutors’ offices has yet to be fully detailed, and it remains unclear which offices have failed to cooperate.
Jordan made it clear that if local prosecutors continue stonewalling, Congress will act. “We want to know the facts,” he said, warning that subpoenas are on the table if voluntary cooperation is not forthcoming. The committee’s push for transparency and accountability has put progressive prosecutors like Descano squarely in the national spotlight.
For full reporting and direct quotes, see Fox News Digital.
When prosecutors prioritize politics and ideology over law and order, it’s the innocent who pay the price, and Americans have every right to demand better.
